Orochimaru told Nara Shikaku the information he had.

After listening to this, Nara Shikaku had a basic understanding of this enemy, so he nodded and said, "I understand, Lord Hokage, I will arrange the expedition now."

Orochimaru was very satisfied with the staff officer's initiative. He waved his hand and asked him to do his work. He turned around and looked at the map in deep thought.

Nara Shikaku is the new Hokage's chief of staff, succeeding his great uncle Nara Shikaku. He represents the Nara family and becomes a close confidant of the Fourth Hokage.

With the unexplained death of the Third Hokage, the former clan leader Nara Shikamine, who represented the loyalty of the Nara clan, naturally retired and gave the position of clan leader to his son Shikaku.

Nara Shikaku, who originally followed Orochimaru, had an awkward identity. He was Orochimaru's confidant, but not the patriarch who could represent the Nara clan.

After obtaining the consent of the Fourth Hokage, Nara Shikaku also withdrew from the front line and went to work at the Konoha Ninja School, giving the position of staff officer to his nephew Shikaku.

Not only Nara Shikaku, but the other two families of Ino-Shika-Chou also replaced their clan leaders and positions in the intelligence department and ninja forces in unison.

At the same time, other large-scale ninja families completed their own metabolism following the replacement of Hokage.

A new emperor appoints new ministers, which is the proper renewal and replacement for a huge political and military group.

Like the Third Hokage in original history, he held power for nearly 40 years, forcing each ninja clan to replace their clan leader in advance.

The combination of old Hokage and young middle-level backbones is a very unhealthy power structure.

In addition, he and his classmates worked together to monopolize power, but due to their old age they were unable to use their power effectively, which eventually led to a separation between the top and the bottom and triggered the Konoha collapse plan.

For a large military and political group like Konoha Village, there are no real enemies in the ninja world.

All the disasters that Konoha Village encountered were caused by the intensification of internal conflicts. The so-called external enemies and external factors were at most a fuse.

Because Konoha Village itself is the largest violent group in the ninja world, as long as there are no internal problems, any external provocation will be easily crushed like the First Ninja World War.

Of course, the super powers coming from Nagato, Six Paths Obito, Six Paths Madara, and the Otsutsuki are another matter.

The Konoha Village under the control of the Fourth Hokage Orochimaru is a highly coordinated war machine, especially with the cooperation of Uchiha Yu, the coordination and speed of its operation are beyond imagination.

Especially after Konoha Village reduced the number of Anbu to 70 people, the two regular elite troops it provided completed the assembly in just 4 minutes after receiving the order from the Hokage.

Orochimaru was very satisfied with this. He looked at the two ninja troops with very different styles and gave an order: "East Coast, Kirigakure, attack!"

"Yes! Tiger troops attack!"

Uchiha Shigenobu stood up and saluted to the Fourth Hokage to accept the order.

Then he turned around and waved his hand, and the 366 Uchiha ninjas of the Tiger Unit disbanded their densely assembled formation, spread out into a marching diamond formation, and set off in an orderly manner.

On the other side, the new leader of the Snake Force, Minato Namikaze, quietly watched the Tiger Force leave, then stood up and said to Orochimaru: "Hokage-sama, the Snake Force is leaving now."

Orochimaru, however, reached out his hand to stop Minato and asked, "Namikaze Minato, I let you be the commander so that you can be familiar with the latest tactics and methods of warfare of Konoha Village."

"This is the Third Ninja World War in the Ninja Village Era. This is not the time for a single ninja to fight alone. You can no longer abandon your subordinates and charge forward alone. Do you understand?"

Namikaze Minato's expression darkened, and he nodded and said, "Yes, Hokage-sama, I understand."

"I have learned a profound lesson. That was a lesson that my disciple Uchiha Obito learned with his life. It was a lesson learned in blood..."

"Fourth Hokage, I promise you that I will lead the Snake Troops seriously and make the mission the top priority!"

Orochimaru nodded with satisfaction and said to Minato Namikaze: "If you win this battle, I will reward you with the forbidden technique, Flying Thunder God Technique, which is the most suitable ninjutsu for you."

Namikaze Minato perked up and answered Orochimaru loudly: "Thank you for the reward, Hokage-sama!"

"Haha, you're thanking me now, you're really confident." Orochimaru ordered loudly with satisfaction: "Very good! Take the snake troops and bring me victory!"

"Remember, don't be anxious. The Snake Unit is not the stupid Uchiha of the Tiger Unit. Our advantage is resilience and precise coordination, not recklessness!"

Namikaze Minato suddenly saw that Uchiha You appeared next to Orochimaru at some point, and after hearing what Orochimaru said, he rolled his eyes at the Hokage behind his back.

Minato, who was originally immersed in sadness, was amused and almost laughed out loud.

He suppressed his laughter, signaled the Fourth Hokage with his eyes, then stood at attention and replied, "Yes!"

The Snake Unit's way of marching was different from that of the Tiger Unit. More than 2,000 ninjas formed three long snakes, slid silently into the forest outside the assembly area, and left silently.

Uchiha You looked at this scene and felt deeply moved.

Now the relationship between Minato Namikaze and Orochimaru is truly a case of orderly inheritance.

Orochimaru is a long-established Kage-level ninja with outstanding achievements and rich experience. At the age of 35, he is at the prime of his life, and everyone thinks it is natural for him to become Hokage.

Minato Namikaze is Jiraiya's disciple, and his reputation has just spread. At the age of 23, he is full of energy and has great potential for future growth. He is just right to take over the important task of front-line command from Orochimaru.

That's fine and reasonable, but some things need to be made clear.

So Uchiha You asked, "It seems that you chose Namikaze Minato to be the Sixth Hokage, and you don't plan to let your own disciple take over?"

Orochimaru smiled and asked back, "Ah, I didn't expect You-kun to not be angry. It seems that you have already guessed that I want to fight?"

Uchiha You nodded and replied: "I did guess one thing. You are planning to change the rigid rule that the Hokage can only be passed down between master and apprentice."

"Namikaze Minato's teacher is not the Hokage, let him take over as the Sixth Hokage, and then let Uchiha Shisui be the Seventh Hokage."

Orochimaru smiled very happily: "You-kun, you really understand me. After two exchanges like this, the tolerance of Konoha ninjas will be greatly increased."

"When the eighth Hokage comes, the pool of candidates for the position of Hokage can be further expanded, so that the candidates for the position of Hokage will not be completely narrowed down at the age of 12 or 13."

"You-kun, what do you think?"

Uchiha You of course agreed: "Very good, very good."

"But why do I feel that this is not your real purpose, Fourth Hokage? What you actually want is to be lazy, right?"

Orochimaru laughed loudly, "Haha, as expected of you Yu-kun, being lazy is my main purpose!"

"I don't want to stay in the position of Hokage forever like my teacher."

"The first three Hokage were all so miserable. The first Hokage died of illness while in office, the second Hokage died in battle, and my teacher, the third Hokage, was so hated by everyone...he also died while in office."

"Obviously, if you stay in the position of Hokage for too long, the outcome will be bad, so I will only stay for 10 years at most, and then let Minato Namikaze take over."

Orochimaru smiled and said, "You-kun is indeed foresighted. You live such a leisurely and comfortable life every day. I really envy you."

"I haven't been to the lab for a long time. Even if I had time to go in, it wouldn't work. My mind would be full of troublesome government affairs, and I wouldn't be able to think about the experiment at all."

“I really want to retire…”

Uchiha You sighed. He came here to question Orochimaru, but he ended up being used as a trash can for his emotions and he could vent his emotions.

So annoying!

However, considering that the Fourth Hokage worked diligently for Konoha Village, Uchiha You decided to forgive him generously.

However, he decided, tomorrow, it means tomorrow!

He was going to take Miwa Masayo to an open-air BBQ on the Hokage Rock, which could be seen from the Hokage's office in the Hokage Building.

He wanted to eat well, drink well, and have the best barbecue feast, the kind that would fill the entire Konoha Village with its aroma.

Orochimaru is so pissed off.

…

Just as the reconnaissance ninjas of the Kirigakure Ninja quietly landed on the coast of the Land of Fire, the Tiger Unit and the Snake Unit of Konoha Village had already arrived at their strongholds less than 70 kilometers from the coastline.

Following orders, Uchiha Shigenobu and Namikaze Minato gathered together to discuss the next battle plan.

Although the Tiger Unit had fewer people than the Snake Unit, after the commanders of both sides gathered, the Tiger Unit had more commanders.

The steady Uchiha Shigenobu, the suspicious and cautious Uchiha Kazushi, the taciturn Uchiha Tadamichi, the tenacious Uchiha Hiroto, and the one with the most ferocious eyes, Uchiha Ikki.

But Minato Namikaze was alone, without any commander who could stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

Facing the five commanders of the Tiger Force, Minato Namikaze couldn't help but click his tongue.

These Uchiha are all 19 years old, younger than Minato. Although their strength is slightly inferior, their combat and command abilities are stronger.

With the elite Tiger Force, excellent commander, and the legendary new clan leader, it is no wonder that the Fourth Hokage is so tolerant of the Uchiha clan.

This really shows the strength, the Hokage can't do whatever he wants.

Namikaze Minato suppressed his emotion and asked first: "Does the Tiger Force have a battle plan?"

Uchiha Shigenobu looked behind him and asked, "He Si, we have been walking for a long time. Have you made up your mind?"

Uchiha Kazushi smiled and said, "The plan is simple, wait."

"First, wait for accurate intelligence from the investigation to determine the landing location of the Kirigakure ninja."

"Second, wait until the main force of the Kirigakure ninja lands."

"After they leave the coastline, the Snake Force will encircle them from both sides in the front, and the Tiger Force will attack from the flanks. Together, we will form a triangular encirclement and wipe out the enemy completely."

Everyone agreed with this and the plan was approved on the spot.

However, Namikaze Minato thought of a question, and he asked: "What about the Konoha ninjas stationed here? Should we notify them to retreat?"

The five Uchiha shook their heads in denial.

Uchiha Shigenobu even said in a more serious tone: "Absolutely not!"

Namikaze Minato looked gloomy, and murmured: "Is it really impossible? Is there no way at all? They are also ninjas from Konoha Village..."

He could save them with just a stretch of his hand, but he had to watch them die in confusion. Minato always felt it was unbearable.

Uchiha Shigenobu said, "Namikaze Jonin, I have learned about your intelligence. You have also carried out such a muddled mission to die, so you sympathize with those Konoha ninjas."

"Please believe me, I also sympathize with them because I have been assigned similar tasks before."

"However, you are no longer an ordinary ninja on the front line. You are now a commander. The responsibility of a commander is to calmly calculate and watch other Konoha ninjas die, or even deliberately send them to die."

"Everything is done to achieve victory and keep more Konoha ninjas alive."

"You need to adapt as soon as possible..."

The five Uchiha did not laugh at Minato Namikaze, because he did not oppose the plan, he just wanted to make up for his regret unwillingly.

Which one of them didn’t come this way?

But they were very lucky, because Uchiha You provided them with protection, not only protecting them through the most dangerous battlefield, but also taking the initiative to bear the psychological pressure of sacrificing their companions.

But this Namikaze Minato was very unlucky. His teacher Jiraiya did not play the protective role he should have and let Minato fumble on his own.

To the shock of the five Uchiha, Namikaze Minato took a few deep breaths, then got rid of the burden and revealed a sunny smile.

He promised the five commanders of the Tiger Unit, "I'm sorry to have worried you all. Don't worry, neither I nor the Snake Unit will fall behind."

The golden hair and the bright and gentle smile are like a ray of sunshine that makes people feel comfortable from the bottom of their hearts.

Even the gloomiest Uchiha Ikki couldn't help but feel warm in his heart.

Ever since this guy was sent to the Rain Country and he was the only one left out of more than 20 study club members, his personality has become extremely gloomy and he has almost completely closed his heart.

Uchiha Ikki didn't talk to anyone except his fellow Tigers and Uchiha Yuu, but at this moment he couldn't help but nodded and said, "I believe you."

When he said this, the other four Uchiha were stunned and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Uchiha Shigenobu said in a chuckle: "As expected of the little golden sun, it can actually warm up our big ice block. That's great!"

Uchiha Kazushi rubbed his chin and said, "Brother You is right. Namikaze Minato is a very charming person with miraculous affinity. He is probably able to cure Ikki."

“It’s actually true!”

After hearing Uchiha You's comments relayed by Kazushi, the Uchiha including Ikki nodded in agreement.

Uchiha Hiroto said, "Brother You is never wrong, and this time is no exception. Ichiki, you have to thank the Namikaze Jonin."

As expected, Uchiha Ikki bowed to Namikaze Minato and thanked him: "Thank you very much, I owe you a favor."

Compared to the Uchiha who accepted it calmly, Namikaze Minato was the more surprised: "Ah? I, I didn't do anything?"

Uchiha Shigenobu laughed, "No, Namikaze Jonin, you have already done it. This is what Brother You said, and he will never be wrong."

"Please rest assured, our Tiger Force will fully cooperate with the Snake Force this time and ensure that nothing goes wrong."

Then all five Uchiha ninjas left, leaving behind a puzzled Minato Namikaze standing in the open space, not knowing what was going on.

After a long while, he smiled and said self-deprecatingly: "I got the high praise from the Uchiha clan leader for no apparent reason, and I also got the thanks from the Tiger Corps..."

"Well, it shouldn't be a bad thing."

…

There was no conversation all night and fog rose in the early morning.

What is unexpected is that the Konoha ninja in charge of command here is very sharp.

After seeing the fog, the old jonin quickly concluded that this was not a normal natural phenomenon.

He immediately sounded the alarm and ordered all his men to retreat.

The young Konoha ninjas questioned: "We haven't even seen the enemy yet, and we are retreating like this, is that really a good idea?"

The old jonin Noji Nobusumi shook his head and said, "A fog of this magnitude must be an attack by the Kirigakure ninja army. If we really see the enemy, we will have no chance to retreat."

"Now that the alarm has been sounded, our duty has been fulfilled."

"I order everyone to retreat. Ninjas under 18 years old go first, and those over 40 years old stay behind to set up disguises and traps."

"yes!"

The sudden retreat of the Konoha ninjas left the Kirigakure ninjas in charge of reconnaissance at a loss.

They did not have enough manpower to intercept more than 30 Konoha ninjas, so they could only send out an emergency contact signal to notify the Kirigakure ninjas responsible for the first wave of attacks.

The Kirigakure ninja, who were preparing for the sneak attack in an orderly manner, saw the signal and naturally knew that the sneak attack had failed.

The Hyuga clan ninja couldn't help but complain: "It must be that this Mist Hidden Technique is doing something bad. It's really unnecessary. It's better to just rush forward."

There were also representatives among the ordinary Kirigakure ninjas. Among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Watermelon Mountain Puffer Ghost sneered and said, "No plan is perfect. Why didn't you complain when the Kirigakure technique succeeded in the Land of Waves?"

Biwa Juzo laughed and said, "Hehehe, don't say that. The Hyuga clan's brains are full of bones, they don't think in circles at all."

Kaguya Ninja's eyes turned red, and she stared at Biwa Juuzou as if she wanted to eat him.

Biwa Juzo was stared at by dozens of Kaguya ninjas, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy, but he still said stubbornly: "Why, did I say something wrong?"

At this time, Momochi Zabuza stood up, pointed at Biwa Juuzou and said, "Of course you are wrong. The Fifth Mizukage is also a ninja of the Hyuga clan. How dare you say bad things about the Mizukage?"

Biwa Juzo was suddenly shocked. Only then did he remember that Lord Mizukage was really from the Kaguya clan.

Not only him, but other Kirigakure ninjas were also shocked, and then all looked at Biwa Juzo with unfriendly eyes. Even the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were dissatisfied.

You know, they were selected fairly under the chairmanship of the Fifth Mizukage, and they are very grateful to him.

In fact, Biwa Juzo was also very impressed by the Fifth Mizukage, so he immediately admitted his mistake and apologized: "I'm sorry, I said the wrong thing, please forgive me!"

But he muttered quietly, "I really didn't remember that the Fifth Mizukage was a ninja from the Kaguya clan."

All the other Kirigakure ninjas could relate to what was said.

The smart and wise Fifth Mizukage really doesn't match the style of the Kaguya clan.

Xiguashan Puffer Ghost shook his head and said, "Since we are exposed, let's follow the Hyuga clan's idea and rush forward to kill all the Konoha ninjas!"

"Okay! Kill them all!"